Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken

September 10, 2014

So let’s talk about how amazing this chicken is. I know I always tell you how this is delicious and that is delicious. But I try to use hyperboles sparingly so that when something like this comes along, you know I’m not kidding. It’s crispy. Super, super, super crispy. So crispy. And while that spiced breading is largely responsible for the deliciousness of this chicken, the sauce just knocks it out of this world.

That sauce. So simple, so deceiving. So freaking yummy. Happy noises while eating this. Together, this chicken will seriously make you ignore everything else except devising ways on how to face plant yourself into a mountain of these for the rest of your life.

My usual routine is to cook, shoot, edit and save the food for dinner later with Mr. Cooking Jar. I am eating it now because I can’t wait. He can wait. He can eat it alone. This chicken does things to you like that.

So how do we cook this miracle chicken? Well that’s easy. It takes less than 30 minutes too. Flatten it, dredge it in spiced breading, dip it in egg, dredge it again and pan-fry it. In case you missed it, that’s a double dredge and that’s why it’s so crispy. The addition of cornstarch and baking powder to the breading makes it even crispier.

And you make the sauce: saute ginger and garlic with honey and soy sauce. Then you pour that magical sauce all over your chicken and eat it hot. Because it has to be hot to enjoy this. Only pour when you’re ready to eat. It’s kind of like the french fries rule. If you wait too long, it gets soggy.

That’s about it.

So little effort for so much win. And trust me, this is a win. Let me know how you like it!

Oh man, this looks great! I wish I could jump into the screen. I am with you on eating it right now. The other day I was cooking and shooting something and my husband walked into the kitchen all “What about me??” I RELUCTANTLY handed him a piece and then stashed away some more to enjoy alone (don’t judge me). 🙂

I saw this recipe featured on foodgawker and decided to take a look. I am going to make it this weekend but just wanted to confirm: in step 2 you mention adding ginger to the batter mixture, but is this a typo or did you forget to list an ingredient?

It’s funny to read what you do because I usually cook, then I tell my sons to wait before touching anything until I am done with my pictures. They are 22 and 20 and tell me that they are hungry and can’t wait to eat. Food does not stay long in this house 🙂 Love your chicken dish and amazing pictures.

Hi Scott! You can remove the cornstarch and baking powder from the flour mix and it’ll still work just fine 🙂 I just added it there to up the crunch factor because I’m used to those three flours in my tempura batter.

It’s definitely not traditional use of nutmeg, but it works! I used very small quantities of it though since it can be overpowering. I would call this a little bit of a fusion dish with Western herbs of nutmeg, thyme, sage, paprika and cayenne in the breading but an Asian influenced sauce of honey, garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Usually I’m not one for fusion stuff, but I like this one!

So I finally got around to making this and it was delicious! The sauce especially was star of the show. The only thing I’ll say is that I only used 3 tbsp of honey instead of four because it sounded like way too much. Three was plenty sweet — I even added a tsp or two of water and reduced the sauce by about 1/4th to thicken it.

I served it with cinnamon cumin rice and steamed carrots. My fiance loved it! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this and take such lovely pictures. My chicken wasn’t as pretty as yours but it was still tasty 🙂

Thanks for coming back and leaving an honest review, Ken! I’m so glad you managed to customize it to your tastes and it worked out well! Using a cornstarch slurry to chicken is also a great way to go if you like it thick 🙂 And the stuff you served alongside it sounds delicious! I love meat spices with my rice.

It’s my job to make things look pretty so people will wanna cook them. It’s your job to to eat! 🙂

I use a regular frying pan, about half an inch or so of oil. You don’t need much, just enough to submerge half of the breast, then flip it over. The thinness of the breast once you pound it down and the medium heat ensures it will cook evenly with very little oil needed.

I need this sauce in my life! It sounds soooo good, and I can imagine putting it over a lot more than just this chicken 😉 I don’t blame you one bit for not waiting to eat this! I almost can’t resist it myself 🙂

This chicken was amazing and as crispy as the picture looks! There were so many flavors that blended perfectly on my taste buds. The recipe was easy to follow and will be a staple in my kitchen for years to come!

Hey Farah! I’m glad that I found your blog. A week ago, I ordered this Honey Garlic Chicken in one of best restaurants here in the Philippines and I really liked it, that is why I tried it on my own. I made it and I really liked it. Thanks for the inspirations.

Hey Abby, I just love your comments! Being dependable and trustworthy is exactly what I’ve been shooting for and I’m so glad to know it’s working! It’s next to impossible to please everyone with every recipe since tastes are so different with each person but the one thing I can work on is being reliable in terms of quality. 🙂

Wow I must admit everything looks delish! My BIG concern is the sodium (salmon) and carbs in these recipe’s. You have taken healthy food and turned it into a heart attack waiting to happen. I would advise using low sodium products, and watch what your adding for sweetness.
Jane

Hi, Jane! I’m not sure what recipe you’re talking about which should be healthy since you mentioned salmon and carbs but this is a chicken dish. In any case, I don’t focus specifically on healthy food, my blog is all about choices. I just make what I can see people making at home. That being said, I do tend to draw a fitness crowed every now and then for some healthy recipes and recipes for cheat days. I figure people who are conscious about what they eat would have done enough research to know how to make healthy substitutions or just choose to not cook it. Such as low sodium soy sauce in place of regular. Or agave in place of honey. Whole wheat pasta in place of regular pasta. Or quinoa in place of rice. But ultimately, it’s all about having options!

Oh, I feel awful! I wish I could make one for you on the house but instead I’ll mention how much oil to use for pan-frying in the recipe. The amount of oil used depends on the method. Saute usually takes anywhere from 1/2 tablespoon to 2 tablespoons depending on the quantity of ingredients. Pan-frying uses just enough oil to cover the bottom of a skillet and deep-frying uses enough oil to submerge the whole thing.

This was fantastic! I made it tonight. Although, a comment for the poster, dumb it down a little bit. I’m certainly far from a hwad chef but wnjoy cooking yet I dont know all of the Jargon and completely missed the annotation after the fact for adding oil to the pan. My second two breasts turned out perfect. The first two look like rejects but I’ll try to give them a shot as I’m thrifty after all.

Thanks for mentioning this, Brian. I’ve gone ahead and made another modification to the instructions to mention oil specifically for the pan-frying stage and pointing it towards the notes (for how much oil is used). This way, it cannot be missed!